The invention relates to a process for destroying and removing tooth material by means of pulsed infrared laser beams.
It is well known that pulsed Er:YAG laser beams can be used similarly to mechanical drills to remove tooth tissue but this makes craters with very slight damage to the surrounding area in both the enamel and the dentine. The removal of dentine is more effective than the removal of enamel, and carious tissue can be particularly effectively removed (R. Hibst et al in "Laser in Medicine and Surgery"-MZV-Verlag (publisher) 4:163 to 165 (1988)).
However, light and electron microscopic examinations have shown that with use of the aforementioned pulsed infrared laser radiation, cracks and vitrification of the material surrounding the crater are avoided, but there is nevertheless a slight brownish discoloration of the crater rim in the dentine.
The object of the invention is to so improve a generic process that the remaining tissue is treated even more gently without impairing the effectiveness of the material removal by the laser radiation.